#ManCrushMonday: Regé-Jean Page on the Challenge of Remaking 'Roots'

Thirty-nine years after the original captivated the nation, Roots returns for a new generation. In eight hours over four nights (starting at 9 PM EST tonight), History retells the story of Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby), a Mandinka warrior captured by a rival tribe and sold into slavery in America, and his family—including daughter Kizzy (Anika Noni Rose) and grandson Chicken George (Regé-Jean Page)—as they strive to overcome the brutality of American slavery.

While Nights One and Two chronicle Kunta's journey, Nights Three and Four are all about Chicken George, who makes a name for himself—and his master, Tom Lea (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers)—by cockfighting across the South. Enter newcomer Page: the British-Zimbabwean actor took on his biggest role to date as Kinte's gregarious, charismatic grandson. Page acknowledges he had huge shoes to fill—"It's a role that's already present in millions of people's hearts"—but he was more than ready for the challenge: "When the stakes are that high, it's fun to be able to push yourself as far as you possibly can." Below, Page talks to BAZAAR about recreating the series for a new generation and the challenges of getting it onscreen:

Harper's BAZAAR: The Hollywood Reporter wrote an excellent piece on the remake and noted that many people were afraid to tackle the project. What made you want to dive in head first?

Regé-Jean Page: Initially I didn't. Like everyone else, I was terrified. And like everyone else, I took the time to evaluate what remaking or retelling Roots would entail and what that means for us; us being absolutely everyone, not just one side of America, not just America, everyone. Roots touches so many people and once you start realizing that, you realize that it has touched an immense amount of people in an immensely important way. And there's a whole generation of people it has not reached yet. And the import that we took from the original is important to be passed down. As long as that is done responsibly and respectfully, there's something incredibly valuable to be done there. Once I came to that conclusion I was happy to be involved.

HB: Why do you think 2016 is the right time to retell this story?

RJP: I don't think there is ever a wrong time to sit down and listen to your grandparents' stories. I don't think that it's ever irrelevant to know where you came from, to know your history, and to improve upon your history. We've had 40 years of conversations since the original Roots. We've had 40 years of scholarship. This show and its knowledge has developed as much as the world has in 40 years. And that's a lot.

HB: It feels especially revelant right now, with the spotlight on diversity in Hollywood and the Black Lives Matter movement becoming such an important part of our national conversation.

RJP: I think our conversation is very intensely focused on figuring out who we are. Particularly America; trying to figure out what the American identity entails. Anything that happens in America culturally resonates throughout the world because the American culture is exported universally. And we're building a global identity as well, so what happened here resonates throughout the world. It made perfect sense to me when I watched Roots growing up in Zimbabwe, just above South Africa. And so as we face that conversation about who we are and why our systems are the way they are and why our society is set up the way it's set up, it makes perfect sense to look back at the stories of exactly how that society is set up and why. Which is Roots.

Page as Chicken George

History

HB: Tell me about playing the role of Chicken George. What did that mean to you?

RJP: A great deal. It was a huge responsibility and a massive honor. As I touched on before, it's a role that I was not originating, it's a role that's already present in millions of people's hearts. It's owned by my audience before I even get to touch it, which is daunting but also hugely exciting. Once you have that weight of responsibility, it means you are being held to the highest standards, which inspires you to do your best work. There is no other option. It means so much to people so close to me, that if I go home and I've messed this thing up, I won't be able to go home. My home will be barred to me forever. And so when the stakes are that high, it's fun to be able to push yourself as far as you possibly can, to discover resources you didn't even know you had in extraordinary circumstances.

HB: Did you work with or speak to anyone who worked on the original? I know LeVar [Burton, who played young Kunta Kinte in the original series] was an executive producer.

RJP: Yes, I spoke to LeVar, because he was on set as a producer. I haven't met anyone else from the original. I haven't had the pleasure yet. I'd love to.

HB: Do you see that as being more helpful to you, as you're able to approach it in a fresh way that's completely your own? As opposed to going in with the notion of their experiences?

RJP: I think you can work both ways and you can find positives either way. Not having contact with more people from the original Roots does give you a freedom, it gives you a certain useful freshness when you approach the material. But I'm also very, very open—always—to talking to people more experienced than myself and learning. It's how you get through life, it's what Roots is about—it's about touching your past and learning from people who have experienced a great deal in order to provide you with the materials you have to create something new. So you can go either way with that.

HB: Tell me about your experience making it. What was prep like, what was being on set like?

RJP: Tough, all around. Every single day was a new challenge. Every single day was intense. I was in Louisiana for the best part of four and a half months. Some of those months were June, July and August, so we're talking 100 degrees, 100% humidity every single day. Which was appropriate. It was useful being in the environment. The environment itself provided many challenges and many inspirations. Every challenge on this project, generally, could be viewed as an inspiration. The heat is a help and a hindrance, the bugs are a help and a hindrance. The bugs see no color, they bite everyone, black, white and green. And oh boy, the bugs… [laughs].

And you know, you're working on plantations. You're working on real-life plantations. You're working on the result of the wealth that was accumulated through this story. You're working on the ground fed by the bloodshed that we tell in this story. It is inspiring as a reminder of the fact that while you may be playing these characters and playing this story today, you are not playing. There is a very real responsibility on your shoulders—on everyone's collective shoulders—on that set because the set is not a set. The set is our history. The set is that wealth, the set is that direct line from the story we tell to where we are today and the exact linkage of how they meet each other. So it was visceral, it was real.

Humanity is not two-dimensional. It is resolute. It is painful but it is also ecstatic, it is also joyous, and holding onto those qualities is the greatest resistance we can portray.

HB: What was the most challenging scene for you to shoot?

RJP: It is very difficult to pick one. Every scene was challenging in itself. It's one of the most rich and engrossing projects I've ever had the honor of being able to touch. There was a day when we were almost literally swimming in this mud bath. It had poured the night before and I'm watching one of my best friends in the program get repeatedly bludgeoned by the back of a rifle, take after take after take. Coupled with what you're going through physically for real, in terms of not being able to hold your feet, you're cold, you're dirty, you're in the mud, you're exhausted, everyone's exhausted, everyone's trying to balance between that professional, we're here and we're doing our job thing and also it's hot, it's muddy, everyone's dirty and getting bitten, and my heart's breaking ten times a day. So days like that can be trying. But I think Malachi [Kirby] talks about this a lot, where, again, because you're on the ground, there's enough around you to remind you that anything you're experiencing is such a small taste of what you're representing and that in itself then reenergizes you.

With co-star Anika Noni Rose (Kizzy)

History

HB: Tell me about your co-stars. Did you form a special relationship with them, having gone through something like this together?

RJP: Yeah, certainly, and not just the co-stars. I've never experienced a set like this. There was not a single person on that set who was turning up to do a job. It was always more important than that. This is not just the creatives, the actors, the directors, the producers, the DoPs, though they were certainly involved. This is the groundsmen, the sparks, this is every single person who was on catering. Everyone was emotionally invested in making sure this was done right. And so there's a certain background radiation of support from every person on that ground, which is extraordinary. I've never experienced anything like it and I'd be surprised if I experienced anything like that again.

HB: How does it feel to see your name up there, next to such marquee names as Laurence Fishburne and Forest Whitaker?

RJP: I'm not sure there's a word for that feeling. It's very, very strange. But also, it's your job. It's what you do. You go to the office, you tell important stories, if you're lucky, and you tell stories with people who are leaders in your profession. I've been incredibly lucky to be paired up with the best mentors anyone could ever ask for on a job like this. I'm just this kid who's wandered in with a really good imagination. I'm in no way as qualified as these marquee names you're talking about. So it's a huge thrill to be in that proximity, and to be able to have them as a resource and a support and as inspiration.

HB: What's the best piece of advice you received before—or during—shooting?

RJP: I'm not sure I got any advice before I started shooting. I didn't have the mentors yet. There was a very practical piece of advice that Chad Coleman [who plays Mingo] gave me. My first week on set, it was pretty much just me and Chad in a barn with about 100 chickens and it was about as maddening as that sounds. I was very wide-eyed at this point, I had never been on a set this size and it was all very, very intimidating, it was a little rabbit-in-the-headlights. On some of the late nights—we were working very long days—it got to a point where Chad decided to lighten the mood a little bit. So he'd start either playing pranks or he'd do something to make me laugh, just to bring a new energy. It got to the point where I was like, "Chad, I can't do this. I need to get my head back, you're gonna get me lost, mate." He pushed me for a little bit, then he was like, "Ok, ok, look, I'm gonna throw you a bone. I'm gonna teach you a little trick. Whenever you feel like you're losing it, come 'round behind to the monitors, look back at the monitors that are showing our house, our beds, the huts. This is the world. Have a look, and you're straight back in it." And that was immensely useful. A very practical actors' trick.

With co-stars Chad Coleman (Mingo) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Tom Lea)

History

HB: You mentioned the need to tell important stories. What are the stories you want to tell next?

RJP: I enjoy the unpredictable. I like the fact that I'm in a wonderful moment where stories are popping up in front of me. We're getting a lot of stories made now by audiences who traditionally haven't been heard very much. Even Roots represents a very underrepresented perspective on our culture. I think there's a lot of that happening, especially in the landscape here, you're getting stuff like Fresh Off the Boat, you're getting stuff like Blackish, you're getting a lot of new stories and old stories with new perspectives, and that stuff excites me very much. It doesn't have to be dire and serious—which Roots isn't all the time, incidentally, which I think is also important. There's a lot of humanity and joy, there are weddings…The whole point of resistance is that our humanity was not quashed, we held onto it. Humanity is not two-dimensional. It is resolute. It is painful but it is also ecstatic, it is also joyous, and holding onto those qualities is the greatest resistance that I think we can portray in the show. The world is so new right now in storytelling that I'm enjoying that I don't think I can predict what I'm going to enjoy.

It's the portrait of a family, it's the portrait of how a people and an identity were crafted and survived.

HB: Who are your dream collaborators?

RJP: I mean if we're shooting for the stars here, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, David Oyelowo, Maxine Peake, Helen McCrory, who is in Peaky Blinders at the moment. These are incredible people who bring such intensity and integrity to everything they ever do. Whether Tom [Hardy] is a bad guy in a superhero movie or he's trying to build a building with the right kind of cement in a car for two hours, the integrity is exactly the same. David Oyelowo does the same thing. So these kind of people I find immensely inspiring. That would really excite me. We'll see! I'll keep working.

HB: What do you hope millenials who may not have seen the original Roots take away from the remake?

First and foremost that Roots is not about slaves. I think that's the most important message, because I didn't necessarily receive that from the way the original was presented. Alex Haley labeled it a portrait of an American family, and I think that's what it is. It's the portrait of a family, it's the portrait of how a people and an identity were crafted and survived, and particularly the American identity. So I hope that millenials who haven't seen this before would take a more rounded idea of their history and that history does need to be updated and retold. You wouldn't teach kids anything from a history book written in the '60s; you'd want the latest textbooks, because our knowledge has changed, particularly around racial politics. We've progressed, we've had a hell of a conversation in the last 100 years and we're still having a hell of a lot of conversation and in order to have that conversation we need to inform ourselves. In order to inform ourselves we need up-to-date culture and information and they needs to be consistently guarded and curated. And Roots is a big part of that.

Tyler Joe

Watch the trailer for Roots right here:

Julie KosinDirector of Audience Strategy & EntertainmentJulie Kosin is the director of audience strategy and entertainment at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she runs the news team and oversees all things movies, TV, books, music, and art, from trawling Netflix for a worthy binge to endorsing your next book club pick.

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